Rust Bucket

Author: Eric E. Wright
Genre: Mystery/Suspense

Reporter Josh Radley, rushes to the site of a beached freighter containing a human cargo bound for enslavement in brothels, farms, and factories. Before these victims can be processed by Canadian authorities, the gang responsible swoops in to recover their cargo.

Josh ignores his urgent need for cancer treatment and plunges into the murky world of human trafficking in Vancouver and Seattle. He also uncovers a catastrophic terrorist plot while fending off violent threats from Chaudari, the leader of this smuggling enterprise. Will he be able to rescue the women and help authorities defuse the terrorist plot? 

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Reviewer: Michelle Holmes

Having been a missionary kid in Asia, I was interested to read Rust Bucket, which is about Pakistanis and human trafficking in North America. There was lots of Urdu language mixed in for effect and translated for understanding. I enjoyed the few words I understood. One word I knew was spelled two different ways a couple pages apart. Wright seems to understand the Asian culture and portrayed it well. An example of this would be how the women were shy about interacting with males. He  definitely put a face on the huge problem of human trafficking and the difficulties and dangers in fighting it.

The book flowed well, except for the details of what Josh Radley ate at every meal, which seemed a bit list-like. There were a couple of places where a fast food place turned into a diner and a cell phone turned into a computer, but they weren't very obvious.  

The biggest problem I see in this book is that the hero doesn't appear to be a man of integrity. The author puts doubt in the reader's mind (especially in the first part of the book) as to whether Radley will stay faithful to his wife or not.  

He tells his wife he is a "one-woman-man" and a couple of pages later we learn that, when his marriage had problems, he made friends with another woman. He had apparently been looking for an affair since we learn later that she still "set his pulse racing", and yet through most of the book he kept in contact with her more than his own wife. At one point he wonders if the other woman is interested in being more than just friends. Later he tries to witness to her. That didn't seem to fit together. I also  felt that he was willing to risk his marriage for a story by visiting a prostitute in order to rescue her, without at least mentioning it to his wife first. I think this smudge on Radley's integrity distracted from the message of the book, namely, the horrors of sex-trafficking.

There are enough sexual references to do with Radley that I would say that this book is for adults.

Good knowledge of subject matter. I liked the ending,"Now if only I could persuade Steph to bring me my laptop."

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Reviewer: Kelly Potts

“Rust Bucket” is the third in a series written by Eric E Wright. The book delves into the dark world of human trafficking. The main character, Josh Radley goes beyond his journalistic duties to assist Canadian authorities in rescuing the men and women kidnapped from Pakistan to be used as slaves in Canada and the U.S. Josh’s passion for saving the unfortunate makes him an easily likeable character. I found the book to be an exciting read, right down to the last page. “Rust Bucket” quietly blends Christian faith into a suspense novel.  Though the continual negative commentary regarding Canadian Authority (CSIS, Immigration, police) is disturbing, I realize that the author needs to describe the plight of those affected by human trafficking and the loop holes and bureaucracy that hinders progress. Nadia and Captain Weber could not be the only good people working for Canadian Authorities. I am looking forward to reading the first two in this series.

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